Happy Christmas, Hope
by Duplicitywistful
Summary: Remus goes to visit his forgetful elderly mother in the nursing home on Christmas of 1997. Just a short story I wrote when I couldn't sleep.


There was a soft hum coming from her oxygen tank. " _Jingle Bell Rock_ " was playing on the radio across the room. The colourful lights on the Christmas tree shined against the frosted glass windows. People were beginning to file in the dining area of the nursing home, those that could walk or come via a wheelchair like herself. Mrs. Charleston, in her tan ugly cat themed sweater, and Ms. Burgundy, with tightly curled white hair and hot pink glasses that gave her bug-like eyes, were invested in a game of cards and had completely forgotten Hope was even playing.

They weren't going to get very far when she was holding her own handful of cards. It seemed like everyone was forgetting everything nowadays. That, or she was off in one of her daydreams and they were just tired of waiting on her turn. She didn't mind staring at nothing with her mouth ever so slightly open, though. Nothing in the room felt cheerful or full of a life consisting of more than going through the motions, not even the tacky uneven looking tinsel on the walls, just beneath the borders. The gold clashed violently against the pea coloured wallpaper.

"Mrs. Lupin?" A friendly aid said, coming up behind the woman. "We're about to serve breakfast. Do you mind if we clean up your card game for you?"

Hope shook her head and handed over the cards. That was Cynthia, her favourite aid. She seemed like the only friendly one around sometimes. What a pretty young lady. Long red hair, freckles... she looked like a friend of her son's. When he came to see her next, perhaps he could meet this young lady for himself. He might like her. "Well, what are we having?"

"I'm not sure, Mrs. Lupin, but I can go see what you marked on your menu, okay?" Cynthia turned around for a moment. "You ordered oatmeal again."

"Blasted oatmeal. I never really liked it anyways..." Hope grumbled in a voice that she was hoping was just for herself to hear.

"Would you like me to get you something else?" The aid offered kindly. Hope gestured her hand for the aid to forget about the oatmeal.

"Did you hear on the news?" Ms. Burgundy asked. _"Three_ more houses collapsed in the London. Shattered the foundation. Can you believe that? I've never heard of anything like that happening before! Just right out of the blue, three house practically blew up! And on all of the days, too..."

"You know what, ladies, Mrs. Lupin's got a visitor today!" Cynthia smiled and tried to change the subject, rubbing the old woman's arms. "Do you mind if I move you two to a different table?"

"Oh don't worry, I can move myself." Ms. Burgundy smiled, feebily pushing herself up. "Come on, Hilda, let's take this party over by the tree. So we can hear the music better, yes?"

"What did you say?" Mrs. Charleston asked, confused, but agreeing to move.

"Who's coming to visit me?" Hope wondered aloud.

"If I'm not wrong, I believe it's your son. I think he brought someone with him, too." The aid told her.

"Now who in the hell would he be bringing, eh?" Hope grumbled cynically. _Poor boy's never going to settle down..._

The young woman had to hide her smile. "I think that's them in the doorway over there." Cynthia pointed over towards the door where two people were standing, one marking something down on a clipboard that was on the table beside it. The other looked vaguely like a woman, but she couldn't quite make it out.

"Well, I can't see now, hang on-" Hope began digging around the purse that sat beside her in the wheelchair for her glasses. She hardly fished them out before the two had already approached.

"I'll leave you three alone then." And off the kind aid went.

"Mum?" A familiar male voice accompanied the man that had pulled a chair up beside her wheelchair.

Hope smiled-her first genuinely happy smile in a long time-and reached her hand out to the man. He was very much a man, wearing a winter coat with snowflakes in his hair. _His hair_... it was greying worse now! His face looked tired and was more and more scarred than the last time she saw him. Seeing his face for the first time in ages broke through any gloominess she had been feeling on this Christmas morning, leaving her with a rush of excitement. "Oh Remus, darling! It's so wonderful to see you again!"

He smiled back, though less enthusiastically. Why did he look perpetually exhausted? "Mum, how are you feeling? Doing alright?"

"That doesn't matter now, does it?" Hope shook her head discouragingly. She pointed her finger at her son. "Darling, you have snow-"

"Here, let me," His companion reassured as she (Hope could tell by her voice now) brushed the melting snow out of his hair with fingerless gloves and... black nail polish? _What a strange girl..._ Younger, certainly, but old enough to be married. She was _so pale_ did she even know what sunlight was? Was she ill? And what was wrong with her hair that made her cut it all choppy and short? It didn't make her look much like a young woman. Overall, she looked nearly _ghostly_ and washed out, with a strange demeanour about her. And why did she need to be wearing such heavy black eye makeup?

"Thanks." Remus nodded and tirned back to Hope. "I'm sorry my visits have been few and far between. So much has been going on lately, we've just been trying to just get by."

"Now... who is this? This 'we'?" Hope asked. Had her son not told her what was going on in his life?"

Remus slowly frowned and glanced over at the woman beside him. "Mum, you've met her, you just don't remember... This is Dora. My wife."

"It's very nice to meet you, Mrs. Lupin." The woman said politely, reaching over to shake the elderly woman's hand.

"Wife? Now, Remus, you never said anything about getting married!" Hope exclaimed in bewilderment. "I don't even _know_ this woman! You went about this behind my back because you don't even-"

"Mum, we _told_ you before _and after_ we got married. You _do_ know Dora. She even signed your last birthday card that I sent you. Don't you remember?" Remus calmly explained. "We didn't do anything without telling you first."

"Well, why don't I remember your wedding? I think I'd remember my own son's-"

"We didn't have a ceremony." Dora explained. "It was simply officiated and then it was over with. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Hope then noticed that the pair was still wearing both of their coats, a scarf wrapped loosely around her neck as if they were ready to leave.

"Why don't you all take your coats off? Aren't you going to visit with me?"

"We won't be here too long, Mum." Remus said.

"And that's it then?" Hope wheezed. "A short visit and then what? You won't see me until the next time-the next time something important happens in your life?"

"We told you we got _engaged_ , then when we got _married_. We had your blessing and we aren't keeping secrets from you." Remus repeated in a low voice. His mother was becoming visibly angrier and he tried to calm her back down from being loud. "We haven't been able to visit because of a lot of reasons, but none of them are because of you."

"Fine." Hope gave her son a bitter look. "Go on then. Leave me here to rot, I suppose."

"Hope," Dora spoke up, gently resting her hand on her husband's arm. "We would love to stay all day if we could, but we're in a bit of a situation right now where we could get into some... _trouble_ of the wrong people got ahold of us."

 _"Trouble_ Hope asked her son.

Remus pursed his lips. "It's complicated, Mum."

"What is?"

The couple exchanged looks. "We... well we... aren't exactly supposed to... _be_ _married,_ for one..."

Hope leaned forward to talk to them in a quieter manner. "Does this have to do with your... _condition?"_ Remus nodded slowly. "What is it then?"

"Don't you remember what I told you during my last visit? When I came to see you in September?"

Hope stared fruitlessly at the floor, wracking her brain for any memory from the last time she saw her son. He was alone that time, she knew, and he seemed extremely distressed about something. But what was it? What had been so important to him?

Dora grinned, though not as confidently as she had tried to, with Remus holding onto her hands. "We're going to have a baby. I'm due early next spring."

 _This_ had to be an even worse shock to Hope. She began stammering at a loss for words.

"You _never_ told me that." Hope declared, leaning back into her wheelchair. "First you go run off with this woman, what? Was she pregnant when you all got married?"

"I did so tell you." Remus shot back defensively. "Mum, I know it's difficult for you to remember things, and that you're not as young as you used to be, but please, you have to trust me that I _told_ you these things."

Hope stayed silent.

Remus sighed, briefly staring off at the ceiling to collect his thoughts. "No, she wasn't pregnant when we got married. It wasn't like that. Yes, we've had to do all of this in secret because _our_ _Ministry_ is particularly fond of hunting down people like me."

The old woman simply stared at the two, with almost complete fury.

"Mrs. Lupin?" Dora spoke up with a small voice. She cleared her throat. "We had-Remus and I had- we'd been talking about perhaps naming the baby after you, if it's a girl. I've heard all sorts of stories about you when you were younger. And I simply love the name Hope."

"Have you heard anything from your father? Any news about him?" Hope asked her son.

He shook his head. "Mum, I haven't heard from him since he left."

"Left?"

"Don't you remember? When I was nineteen or so, a couple of years after he kicked me out, he got up one night and never came back."

"Your father didn't _leave."_ Hope spat. "He went _missing._ It was because of that _mess_ you all call a government-"

"He _disappeared_ because he could face the fact that it was _his fault_ that I am the way I am!" Remus defended. His wife tried to keep him from jumping out of his seat at the old woman, shushing him to keep from raising his voice. He pushed himself back in his seat, his fingers holding on tightly to the armrests. Remus straightened his back. This felt all too familiar. "Don't you understand? He never cared about anyone but himself and he got scared when I threatened that security!"

Hope gasped in a breath of air. "The fact that you all had the _audacity_ to-"

"Mrs. Lupin." Dora stopped her and shook her head. "We didn't come to fight with you. We came to tell you happy Christmas and come make sure you're doing well. We're trying to do everything we can to be a part of your life, but things have been hard with Remus's _condition_ , and with the baby on the way... We're just trying to keep a low profile."

"Is it... is the baby going to be... _like you?"_ She asked, half curious, half inprudently.

"We don't know." Remus told his mother. "We just... we're just doing a lot of assuming and anticipating right now."

Hope had a sour expression on her face, refusing to look over at her daughter-in-law. "I still find it extremely rude that you didn't even _try_ to include me in your lives."

Remus almost tried again to pick a fight with her, but his wife stopped him. She smiled awkwardly. "Things are going to get better soon. And sure, they've not been as good as we had anticpated they's be. Hopefully we'll get to see you before April, but if we don't, then please understand that we're trying to do our best. We'll let you see our child, don't worry about that. We'll keep you updated. Just please try and be patient for us, okay?"

The old woman gave a solemn nod. She coughed into her body elbow.

"Mum?"

"Yes dear?"

"Can we leave you on good terms?"

Hope thought for a moment and then nodded again. "Yes. Of course you can." The couple stood up and straightened their coats. Remus gave his mother a quick kiss on the cheek and said his goodbyes. Swiftly, the woman grabbed ahold of Dora's hand. She turned to see Hope, who was gently patting her hand. "It was nice meeting you again, Dora."

Dora smiled. "It was nice meeting you again too, Mrs. Lupin."


End file.
